Scaling Up Success:

Infusing Disability into Higher Education

at Temple University

Panel Presentation at AUCDNovember 1, 2010

Ann Keefer, Project Coordinator, Disability Studies InstructorCarol Marfisi, Disability Studies Instructor

Diane Nelson Bryen, PI, Disability Studies InstructorInstitute on Disabilities

Temple University

Pennsylvania’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

Education, Research and Service

VISIONA society where all people are valued and

respected, and where all people have the

knowledge, opportunity and power to

improve their lives and the lives of others.

MISSIONThe Institute on Disabilities leads by example,

creating connections and promoting networks

within and among communities so that people

with disabilities are recognized as integral to

the fabric of community life.

Ensuring Higher Education Opportunity for All

• Purpose: – Improve retention of college students with

disabilities– 3-year Demonstration Project

• Funded by:– US Department of Education, Office of

Post-secondary Education

Three Areas of Transformation

• Human Resources: – New Hire Orientation (mandatory)– Diversity Goes to the Movies (voluntary)

• Mosaic: The Humanities Seminars– Two semester, general education humanities

sequence using thematic approach & classic texts

• Universal Design for Learning

Human Resources

• Increased accessibility of all New Hire Orientation materials while placing new emphasis on disability as a valued category of diversity

• Designed new workshop for the series “Diversity Goes to the Movies,” featuring clips from the hit television series Glee

Temple University New Hire Orientation BEFORE

Dark

background

with BLUE

type

No mention of

people with

disabilities

No images of

people with

disabilities

White

Background

with black

type

Statistic

Included

about people

With

disabilities

Images of

people with

disabilities

throughout

the

presentation

Temple University New Hire Orientation AFTER

Mosaic: The Humanities Seminars

• 7 Disability Studies faculty delivered lectures on disability history and culture keyed to primary Mosaic texts

• 6 Mosaic faculty members joined our faculty cohort

• Each section of Mosaic receives two lectures

• Lectures designed in close collaboration between Disability Studies and Mosaic faculty

About Mosaic, Mosaic Faculty and Disability Studies Faculty

• Mosaic: 2-semester required humanities seminar– 200 sections – 54 Mosaic faculty– 8 self-selected volunteer group

• Disability Studies: Most instructors have disabilities– Institute on Disabilities – English, Education, Religion, Geography

Mosaic Texts & Lecture Topics

Video of Mosaic

“Beyond Inclusion”Ensuring Higher Education Opportunity

For ALL

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• UDL -- innovative philosophy of instruction which aims to reach all learners

• Model concepts of UDL in all Mosaic lectures– Multi-modal instruction– Accessible PowerPoint slides– Captioning of video

• Delivered workshops on UDL– Temple University – Other Universities

Project Challenges and Solutions

• Recruiting Interested Mosaic faculty

• Scheduling Mosaic Lectures

• Faculty Turnover

Project Challenges and Solutions, ctd.

• Accommodating Faculty with Disabilities• - Team teaching, classroom supports, attitudinal change

• Meeting with Instructor Prior to Presentation - E-mail or in-person correspondence and planning

• Preparing Presentation to Suit Needs of Faculty with Disability- Dictation, scanning, audio books, screen readers

Evaluation: Outcomes

• Required Measures– Retention of students with disabilities

– Use of UDL by Mosaic faculty

• Other Measures– Pre- post survey of knowledge of disabilities

– Student feedback and written responses

Retention Rates

Semester

Mosaic 851 Standard

Mosaic 851 Transformed

Mosaic 852 Standard

Mosaic 852 Transformed

Spring 2009 (n=131 Students with

Disabilities)

81%

100%

88%

90%

Fall 2009 (n=106 Students with

Disabilities)

90%

100%

82%

100%

Spring 2010

(n=107 Students with Disabilities)

91%

No students with

disabilities

87%

100%

Bolded = Transformed Mosaic Class 851 = Mosaic I 852 = Mosaic II

Fall 2009 Question Pre %

(n=35 9) Post % (n = 90)

Change % % Post only (n =90)

Interest in learn ing more about d isab ility history & cu lture

50.1

52.2

+ 2.1

Disab ility a va lued aspect of cu lture on my ca mpus

83.6

86.7

+ 3.1

Disab ility history & cu lture ha s been ment ioned in courses

32.3

78.9

+ 46.6

Draw on ne w knowledge of disab ility this se mest er?**

47.8

Student Com ments *Post: In Mosa ic courses, lots of place s/very often, internsh ip, not much bu t have family members with d isab ilities, we connect disab ility with text we read, **In Mosa ic classes and blogs; connected our kno wledge to our texts; in race and disab ility; in discuss ions about the bible ; in discuss ion of access ibility and cities

Mosaic Disability History, Culture, Diversity: Pre-Post Survey for Fall 2009 and Spring 2010

Mosaic Disability History, Culture, Diversity: Pre-Post Survey for Fall 2009 and Spring 2010

Spring 2010 Question Pre %

(n=12 9) Post % (n = 96)

Change % % Post only

(n =98 ) Interest in learn ing more about d isab ility history & cu lture

57.5

63.6

+ 6.1

Disab ility a va lued aspect of cu lture on my ca mpus

80.6

86.4

+ 5.8

Disab ility history & cu lture ha s been ment ioned in courses*

48.1

71.9

+ 23.8

Draw on ne w knowledge of disab ility this se mest er?**

58.3 %

Student Com ments *Post: In Mosa ic course on ly: increa sed ge ne ra l a wareness; on ly in 1 class; **In relat ionsh ip to Jenn er and Jacob’s texts ; in Mosa ic II while re ading Jac obs; in Mosa ic classes; in our course b log; in Disab ility Ident ity course; had to survey ca mpus for access ibility; da ily spoke a bout disab ility in adu lthood and ch ildho od cases and ident ify issues; bett er knowled ge about disab ility

Evaluation: What students say……

Disability and Diversity• “Had no idea that people with disabilities had to go through the

same things as other minority groups.”

Lecture on Edward Jenner’s Vaccination Against Smallpox and Vulnerable Populations

• “Like the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, the moral of the presentation is that ethics in science must walk a very thin line between yielding wonderful results and being exploitative and devastating.”

Impact of learning about the history and culture of disability

• “The presenter [Carol Marfisi] was so interesting that I sought out her Gen Ed course on disability identity.”

Sustainability

To ensure sustainability, we provide the following supports to Mosaic instructors:

• Open-captioned video of each Disability Studies lecture with text transcript

• PowerPoint presentations accompanying lectures

• Bibliography for further research

• Support from DS faculty while Mosaic instructors integrate disability content into their courses

Replication

Seeking 5 colleges or universities across the US to replicate model of curriculum transformation

Potential Applicants:• College/university should demonstrate a commitment

to diversity, including faculty and students with disabilities

• Faculty cohort should include instructors with disabilities

Replication Supports

• $10,000 for faculty time, books, training, travel or other program-relevant expenses

• All materials developed for sustainability: videos, PowerPoint presentations, guide book

• Customized technical assistance by project staff

Application Process

• Application deadline: December 17, 2010• Email to Ann Keefer: arkeefer@temple.edu

• Online Application Form at www.disabilities.temple.edu/programs/ds/hEd.shtml

– Short Narrative– Budget– 2-page CV of all participating faculty/instructors

• Notification by January 14, 2011

Questions

Institute on Disabilities at Temple UniversityStudent Center, 1755 N. 13th StreetSuite 411Philadelphia, PA 19122

Tel: 215-204-1356 Fax: 215-204-6336Email: IOD@temple.eduWeb:www.disabilities.temple.edu/programs/ds/hEd.shtml

FOR INFORMATION contact:

Contact information:Email: dianeb@temple.edu or arkeefer@temple.edu